Halloween Ideas for a Changing Planet
Pretty or scary or brave? There’s a climate costume to suit all tastes.
Children will be roaming the streets tonight dressed as Superheroes, Princesses, and Evil Villains. But really, these invented figures can’t hold a candle to the real ones in our world. Here are some possibilities:
Cruela de Coal. This is an easy make-over of the Disney costume. Simply coat the costume with soot and add a “Coal Kills” sign.
The Sea-Level Witch. Another easy one: just take a Sea Witch costume and wear shoe lifts. OR for the more adult crowd, high heels. Stilts, of course, would be even better.
Buzz Windmill. Another costume conversion – take a Buzz Lightyear costume and glue cardboard turbine blades to the back.
Unfrozen Arctic. For this costume, the idea is to dress like a giant ice cube, attach water-drop shapes, and drip water from a concealed container while muttering “drip. . .drip . ..drip.”
Captain Renewable. Captain Renewable can take a shaft of sunlight or a summer breeze and turn them into electricity to zap enemies. What could be cooler?
The Mad, Mad Methane Monster. This monster can cook your planet in virtually no time. Talk about a supervillain!
The Endangered Mermaid. Like many ocean creatures, this mermaid is now threatened by rising temperatures and ocean acidification. Wear a Little Mermaid costume but carry an icepack for the fever, a thermometer, and a big bottle of antacid.
Ghost Corals. Bleached white and dead is the look you’re going for here.
The Energy Dinosaur. Standard dinosaur costume of your choice, just add logos for Exxon, BP, etc.
Stranded Asset. A truly pathetic figure, barely able to drag itself along and beg for government bailouts.
Zombie Wells. These inactive oil and gas wells are an ominous source of invisible pollution. Standard Zombie costume. Just add a cap with an oil company logo – or if you’re really ambitious, make a hat in the form of an oil derrick out of tinker toys or Legos.
TRICK OR TREAT!
[earlier version posted Oct. 31, 2022]